On the ball

Elementary school teachers often repeat the same things over and over, and “Don’t tip in your chair” is a favorite. Linnea Lawson, a second and third grade teacher at Mill Creek Elementary, used to say it all the time.

“Constantly,” she said. “We had kids tip once a year. Kids need to move.”

Now her students can “get their wiggles out” in a new way: They sit on yoga balls all day rather than chairs.

Lawson’s is the only class in the school where every student has a yoga ball, thanks to a $400 grant from the PTA. They’ve worked so well other teachers want them too.

“At the end of the day (students’) faces aren’t wilted with being tired,” Lawson said. “I know how I feel when I’m sitting all day in workshop — it’s not a good feeling.”

Research shows that sitting on the balls forces children to balance, increases circulation, strengthens core muscles and helps them focus, Lawson said. When children feel the need to move, they bounce. The balls help children work longer and she can get them to do more, Lawson said.

Rather than riling the class up, it’s calming, she said.

About 3 p.m. last Thursday, Feb. 15, there was only half an hour left of school, but the class sat quietly in rows, reading about spiders. Now and again, a child bounced quietly on the ball, then stopped.

When Lawson asked the back row, in demonstration, to put their balls away, students stood up and put the balls in small bowls on the desks in lock-step precision.

Children understand that if they misbehave with the ball — bouncing it across the room for example — they lose it. That hasn’t happened yet.

When the students gave them up for a few days to let other students try them, they really missed them, Lawson said.

Putting more movement into school is even more vital now than it used to be, Lawson said.

Since education reform and the advent of the WASL, most teachers focus heavily on the tested skills.

“There’s no free time anymore,” she said. “You have to stick to teaching the standards.”

In addition, many children play video games or watch television at night, Lawson said.

“Exercise is the number one thing,” she said. “They get less movement.”

Offices in Europe use the yoga balls, and Microsoft does too, Lawson said.

At Mill Creek Elementary, some special needs students and children who have attention deficit disorder use the balls as well.

“I absolutely love using them because it helps students focus on work,” said Di-Ann Mandy, special education teacher at the school.

Lawson is the only teacher who has a full class set of the yoga balls, which have created a lot of buzz. Other teachers want them now too.

“Linnea’s started the trend,” Mandy said.